Today is the anniversary of the Garadagli tragedy.
Publika.az reminds that 34 years have passed since the tragedy.
Garadagli village of Khojavand region fought heroically against Armenian invaders for 4 years. The village was occupied and burned on February 17, 1992, Armenian invaders committed genocide against the civilian population. The massacre committed here 32 years ago, the torture of villagers was the continuation of the policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide carried out by Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijanis for almost 200 years, and the result of their hatred for Azerbaijani Turks.
The village of Garadagli is located 13 kilometers west of the Khojavend district center, on the edge of the Khojavend-Khankendi highway, in the foothills. In 1988, when the Armenian separatists rose up in Nagorno-Karabakh, the tragic days of Garadaghli village of Khojavend region also began. The residents of the village fought for every inch and every stone of their native land, where they grew up and reached their full potential, dozens of villagers were martyred in unequal battles against the Armenians.
On November 24, 1990, 3 villagers were brutally murdered by Armenian bandits at the 6th kilometer of the Khojavand-Khankendi road. On January 9, 1991, a UAZ car that came to the village was fired upon by Armenians, 1 person was killed and 4 people were injured. 2 of them later died from their injuries.
On March 8, 1991, Armenians brutally murdered 2 people near the village. On June 28 of the same year, 6 residents – 3 men and 3 women – were burned alive in a farm near the village. On September 8, 1991, a passenger bus coming from Aghdam to Garadaghly was shot by Armenian bandits at the 5-6th kilometer of the Khojavend-Khankendi road. Out of about 40 passengers on the bus, 2 men and 6 women died. On January 8, 1992, another Azerbaijani was brutally murdered near the village, and about 100 sheep were taken away by Armenians as booty.
On December 19, 1991, Khojavand village was occupied and on February 12, 1992, Malibeyli village of Shusha was occupied and burned. The next target was Garadağli. The situation in the village was getting more and more difficult, the day of the tragedy was approaching.
On February 14, 1992, Armenian bandits, using the equipment and manpower of foreign mercenaries, especially the 366th regiment of the Soviet army located in Khankendi, attacked the village of Garadaghly, which was cut off from all sides and remained helpless. 104 residents and 14 soldiers in the village fought the enemy for 4 days until the last shot. 14 people, including one woman, were killed in the fighting. Our compatriots, who ran out of weapons and ammunition, were finally captured by the Armenians, and their next hardships began.
23 residents were shot by Armenian executioners in the area called Beylik Bagh of the village, and most of them were buried alive in a silo pit. Some of the prisoners were thrown from cars and shot in Armenian villages located on the Garadaghli-Khankendi road. Two people were killed in Zaki spring, and two people were killed in the community village. Armenians brutally tortured and killed eight villagers who were hostages. Four people were martyred at different times. The fate of five people is still unknown.
Thus, on February 17, 1992, the village of Garadaghly was occupied and burned by Armenian armed forces. During the occupation, 118 people were captured and 33 people were shot. The Armenian executioners poured the killed and wounded into a farm well and covered them with earth. In total, 68 people were killed and 50 people were released from captivity with great difficulties. 10 of those captured were women, 2 were schoolchildren. 18 of those who were freed died of incurable wounds. Treating captives with brutal and vandalism, beheading people, burying them alive, pulling teeth, starving them, and beating them to death was a crime against humanity. As a result of the genocide committed by Armenia at the state level, 4 people from each of two families were killed in the village of Garadagli, 43 heads of families were lost, and 146 children were orphaned. In the village of Garadagli, 91 people, one out of every 10 inhabitants of the village, were killed. As a result of the occupation, 200 houses, 1 culture house, a 320-seat high school building, a 25-bed hospital building and other objects, historical, religious and cultural monuments belonging to Azerbaijanis and a cemetery were destroyed in the village. About 800 residents of the village were forcibly displaced.
In order to convey the tragedy of Garadaghli to the world community, the documentaries “Genocide: Garadaghli”, “Genocide of Garadaghli: continuing…” and “Karadaghli, struggle” were made, and the book “The genocide of Garadaghli in the words of witnesses” was prepared. In addition, to perpetuate the memory of the martyrs, memorial complexes were erected in Yeni Garadağli, Yeni Khojavand settlements and in Nargiztepe area.
It should be noted that the village was occupied by the Armenian Armed Forces from February 17, 1992 to November 10, 2020. In accordance with the tripartite statement signed on November 10, 2020 based on the results of the Second Karabakh War, the village of Garadaghly came under the control of the Russian Peacekeeping Forces. On September 19-20, 2023, after the local anti-terrorist measures implemented in Karabakh, it came under the control of Azerbaijan.
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